Best Picture? What a Foreign Concept!

Over the last eleven year’s TIFF has slowly become a major when it comes to Academy Award winners. Two of the last three Best Picture winners (Slumdog Millionaire and The King’s Speech) were also winners of TIFF’s prestigious People’s Choice Award. 2009 Best Picture winner, The Hurt Locker, did not win the People’s Choice Award, but it screened at the festival the same year as Slumdog Millionaire. If you look closely at the Best Picture nominees over an eleven year span you will noticed that eighteen of the sixty-five nominated films screened at TIFF. This number increases drastically when you start factoring in all the other Academy Award categories.

One less publicized area where TIFF seems to have an outstanding track record is in the Best Foreign Language film category. In the past eleven years, every winner of this category has screened at TIFF. Despite its track record with foreign language films, TIFF has been unsuccessful in changing people’s perceptions of the Best Picture with respects to foreign language films winning. This year’s People’s Choice winner was Where Do We Go Now? The weeks leading up to TIFF, and especially during, people were speculating which films would win the award and thus become a front-runner for the Best Picture award. Many of the film titles being thrown around featured several well known actors/actresses. Then something strange happened, a Lebanese film was announced as the People’s Choice winner and the mood shifted immediately. No longer were the media outlets talking Best Picture buzz, but almost lackadaisically referred to the film as having a shot in the Foreign category.

The fact that a foreign language film immediately gets discredited from the Best Picture debate is still rather shocking in this day and age. Even more disturbing is that a foreign language film still has not won the Best Picture award. The last two foreign language films to even get nominated in the Best Picture category were Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon in 2000 and Letters from Iwo Jima in 2006. Both of those films lost to Gladiator and The Departed respectively.

Of course some will point to the fact that foreign language films have their own specific category; others will simply state that not every film can be nominated for Best Picture. However, these are probably the same people who will turn around and champion the merits of Pixar films such as Up or Toy Story 3 winning the Best Picture award instead of being relegated to the Best Animated category. The sad thing is that animated films, while good in their own right, still stand a better chance of snagging a Best Picture award than a foreign language film.

What is it about foreign language films that keep Academy voters away? Maybe the lack of Best Picture support is merely a reflection of the current film going culture. At the end of the day people want to cheer for stars they know. Critics and bloggers now post list of possible award hopefuls well before the actual film is released. Their views are often based simply on the film’s synopsis, director and cast. Clint Eastwood making a film on J. Edgar Hoover with Leonardo DiCapro immediately gets thrown in the Oscar discussion just based on the idea. Whether the film is actually good or not is the last thing considered. Foreign language films on the other hand are usually judged by the strength of their story.

It is a shame that with all the technology we have today, foreign language films are still viewed with a bit of distain. Although access to foreign language films has increased, it seems many are still not willing to look at them as serious Best Picture contenders. No matter how much people love a film like Amélie, at the end of the day films like A Beautiful Mind will most likely walk away with the Best Picture praise.

Who Spiked My Lee?

This month The LAMBs in the Director’s Chair series is highlighting the works of Spike Lee. Over the years Spike Lee’s talents as a director have been overshadowed by his public comments about Quentin Tarantino’s use of the “N word” in films and Clint Eastwood’s lack of colour in his World War II films. Despite the media mishaps, Spike Lee has always been a director I admire. When I first started to pay attentions to films on a more serious level, Lee was one of the first mainstream directors I can remember whose films predominantly featured a cast that looked like me. Most importantly he has made many memorable films that still resonate with audiences years later. He are ten of Spike Lee’s film that I particularly enjoy:

Do the Right Thing – Hands down Spike Lee’s best films. I would even say it is one of the best films ever made. It easily ranks in the top 100 of any list, and if you do not have it there then you need to readjust your list. No other film to come out since has been able to capture racial tension the way this film does. This is a must see for any cinephile.

Sucker Free City – I saw this film, which was a pilot for a show that was never developed, at TIFF a few years back. I remember listening to Anthony Mackie talk about the film and what a pleasure it was to work with Lee. Besides featuring Mackie and another actor I really like, Ken Leung, Sucker Free City featured a really interesting premise that would have made for a great show. Similar to Martin Scorsese’s pilot for Boardwalk Empire, Lee not only establishes his main characters but sets up a few storylines all in a short running time.

Jungle Fever – While nowhere near Lee’s best works, this is the one film I find myself re-watching the most. The film is uneven at times because Lee has some ideas that are never quite realized. The thing that brings me back to this film the most though is the wonderful performances by Ossie Davis and Samuel L. Jackson as Wesley Snipe’s father and crack head brother respectively. The scene between Davis and Jackson towards the end of the film is just riveting to watch.

When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts – I was completely riveted with Lee’s four hour documentary on the events surrounding Hurricane Katrina. It was the last documentary to make me both angry and extremely sad. I still get infuriated when I think of both the film and the events of Katrina. Some will argue that the film did not need to be four hours. I would argue that four hours is not enough.

She’s Gotta Have It – An independent, and sexually liberated, young woman who does not want to be tied down by anyone man? Sounds like a pilot for a Sex in the City spinoff. Yet Spike was already tackling these issues back in the 80’s. What I really liked about the film was how he framed this love triangle. You are never quite sure who Nora will finally choose. I also like that he shows African-American women as both smart and sexual beings, which is a stark contrast to what you see in most urban music videos nowadays.

Bamboozled – Controversial? You bet! Yet once you get past the initial shock of the “black face” debate the smart satire of the film begins to shine through. Lee provides an accurate commentary on television stations, like “B.E.T” and music videos that are causing a whole generation to take a step backwards. Yes the film is flawed, especially towards the end, yet Lee does succeed in generating discussion.

Inside Man – Several folks in the industry claimed that Lee did not know how to make a film that makes money (i.e. a commercial feature). This film is Spike Lee proving them all wrong. The Inside Man may not be a groundbreaking heist film but it is an entertaining one. Lee not only proved that he could get mainstream audiences into the theatre but also that he could direct a high profile cast (i.e. Jodie Foster, Clive Owen, and Lee regular Denzel Washington).

Malcolm X - The fact that this film only received two Academy Award nominations (best actor and best costume design) in 1993 is baffling. I understand that this was back when only five films could be nominated for best picture but was A Few Good Men really better than this? I think this is still Lee’s most ambitious film to date. He made a bio-pic on a figure that still polarizes many people to this day, yet managed to bring a level of humanity to the character that few see. While I think the film runs a little longer, it was still deserving of more praise than it received.

He Got Game – The whole imprisoned father who wants to reconnect with his son is a well worn genre. While the film never reaches the level of other similar stories, South Central for example, Denzel gives a strong performance and Ray Allen does a decent job in his first acting gig. Again, not Lee’s best film but one that I quite enjoy.

4 Little Girls – Lee’s first full length documentary is an example of his masterful storytelling. Focusing on one of the key moments in the Civil Rights movement, Lee skilfully details the events leading up to the bombing of the 16th Street church in Alabama in which four innocent young girls were murdered. The film is not only a reminder of a history that we are not all that far removed from, but it also serves as a warning of the depths to which racism can go.

Million Dollar Baby Prefers the Best in Rings

Million Dollar Baby

In preparation for the upcoming Academy Awards, The Flick Chick is holding her own Best Picture Countdown. Everyday, from the Oscar nominations right up to the telecast, The Flick Chick will be highlighting the previous best picture winners. In order to fill in the gaps for films that she either has not seen or not already written a review for, she has called on other bloggers to submit their reviews on films from her list. I chose to revisit Clint Eastwood’s four-time Oscar winner, Million Dollar Baby, mainly because I wanted to see if it still packed a punch after having just watched The Fighter.

Directed by Eastwood, and written by Paul Haggis, Million Dollar Baby is a tale of a waitress, Maggie (Hilary Swank), who decides to pursue her dreams of becoming a professional boxer at age 31. In order to fulfil her dream, Maggie knows she needs a trainer so she turns to former trainer, and current gym owner, Frankie Dunn (Eastwood). Frankie was one of the best trainers in his time, but now spends most of his time filled with regret about how things turned out between him and his estranged daughter. Frankie’s only friend is Scrap (Morgan Freeman), a former boxer who fell on hard times and is now working as a janitor in Frankie’s gym. With the assistance of Scrap, Maggie eventually gets Frankie to break his “I don’t train girls” policy and become her trainer. As the unlikely pair start to make their way around the boxing circuit, Maggie’s star begins to rise. This forces the normally overcautious Frankie, to take a risk and get Maggie that a shot against Billie “The Blue Bear”(Lucia Riker). Billie is one of the dirtiest fighters on the circuit and will do anything to protect her title. With momentum in their favour, Frankie and Maggie know that this fight could possibly change their lives.

It has been five years since I last watched my DVD copy of Million Dollar Baby. I was both excited and a little hesitant to revisit it as sometimes our memories of the experience are greater than the film themselves. One element that was prominent this time around was how annoying Freeman’s constant narration is. Rarely do scenes play out on their own without the narrator chiming in to express the significance of the moment. It is almost as if Haggis and Eastwood are afraid to let the dialogue and images speak for themselves. This inadvertently results in the film underestimating the overall intelligence of its audience. While the last few scenes are designed to show the importance of Freeman’s narration, it is hard to believe that the person the narrator is actually speaking to would be interested in the side story at the gym involving Danger Bach (Jay Baruchel), Shawrelle Berry (Antony Mackie), and Omar (Michael Pena). While I think their side story, and the one involving Maggie’s family, are needed in the film; they would have the same impact without the assistance of the narrator.

My issues with the narrator aside, I found myself still falling for the film despite knowing what was going to happen. Million Dollar Baby is in reality two films in one. The first half is a rags-to-riches style boxing tale in which a self-proclaimed white trash girl and her crotchety trainer learn defy the odds. Like many other odd couple films, they have their ups and downs on the way to gaining mutual respect for one another. The second half is where the true heart of the film is. It is here where the film moves from a simple boxing film to a tale about morality, and family. The film looks at issues regarding euthanasia, atoning for past sins, and spirituality. It is hard to think of Million Dollar Baby without immediately focusing on the latter part of the film.

Clint Eastwood does a good job of juggling both the heavier moments with the comedic ones. He never ventures into the realm of slapstick despite coming close on a few occasions with the character Danger. The boxing scenes are well done and they never feel false. I liked how Eastwood slowly gives Maggie a cocky swagger as her wins increase. This offers a nice build up to her match with the menacing beast that is Billie. Overall Eastwood’s direction is sound and I would argue far better than his performance in the film. This is not to say that Eastwood is bad, in fact he is quite good, but after seeing his grumpy old man act in Gran Torino, it does not have the same humorous effect in Million Dollar Baby as it did when I first saw the film. Hilary Swank is brilliant in the film and well deserving of her Academy Award win for Best Actress. Swank shows both Maggie’s tough side and her fragile side, she has the audience laughing one minute and crying the next. While Maggie and Frankie are supposed to be the odd couple of the film, it is actually Frankie and Scrap who perfect this. Eastwood and Freeman carry over the great chemistry they had in Unforgiven into this film. Freeman is especially good as the man who, though blind in one eye, can see what is truly occurring far better than anyone else in the film.

Although six years has passed since its original release, Million Dollar Baby is aging very well. With the exception of the narration, the story still delivers an emotionally charged tale. The performances from the ensemble cast are great and the mixture of drama and humour help this film to retain its high re-watch value.

Ninja's Assassination Averted Due to Dull Blade

Ninja Assassin

Dear Marvel,

How have you been? I see you just signed Chris Evans to be the new Captain America. As an avid Cap reader I am still not quite sure how I feel about the choice. I know you are thinking about the long-term Avengers franchise but I always pictured Captain America being played by someone closer to Robert Downey Jr.'s age. I just can see the Human Torch...err...Chris Evans giving orders to a much older Iron Man. Oh well, I am getting off topic...the reason I am writing you is because I would like to pitch a movie idea to you. I think it is time you seriously think about making an Immortal Iron Fist movie. Now I understand that Iron Fist is a fringe character; but so was Blade and look how successful that franchise was for you. Plus Iron Fist would be a far more interesting character than the Ant-Man movie you are currently making.

The idea for an Iron Fist movie came to me when I was watching John McTeigue's film Ninja Assassin. I will not bore you with all the plot details as the title pretty much tells you all you need to know. Raizo (Rain) is trained to be a ninja assassin from a very young age. After the girl he loves is killed by the Ozunu clan, the same clan that trained him, Raizo teams up with agent Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) in hopes of bringing down the ninja organization for good.

While Ninja Assassin has its moments, I could not help but think how much better the film would have been if it had the gripping story arcs and character depth that can be found in superior works like Iron Fist. If you really think about it, with the films over-the-top action sequences and relentless gore factor, Ninja Assassin feels like a comic book movie more than it does a martial arts film. Which is not surprising considering that J. Michael Straczynski , who wrote Clint Eastwood's Changeling as well as the recent Thor comic reboot, was one of the writers behind Assassin. Now I am not saying that you bring Straczynski into the fold if you do take me up on my suggestion. I believe that Ed Brubaker, who wrote the first Immortal Iron Fist story arc, should be in charge of adapting the material. Though I would suggest that you use several of the elements that worked well in Ninja Assassin.

The first thing I would keep is the way McTeigue had the ninjas spawning out of the shadows and communicating in whispers. Not only was this a cool touch, but it also created a creepy atmosphere at the same time. When you consider how large the Ozunu clan is, there are times when you genuinely wonder if the characters will make it out alive. I also like that the film actually had a villain that was more than just a figurehead for evil. Lord Ozunu (Sho Kosugi) dishes out the lethal blows with such ease that you secretly hope he will come out on top. Sure the overall ending is poor but at least the final fight scene provided some creative moments. The last positive thing I would use from this film is Naomie Harris, who would make a perfect Missy Knight by the way, as she seemed to be the only credible actor in the entire cast.

Feel free to scrap everything else. If Ninja Assassin is supposed to be Rain's big Hollywood coming out party, then he may not want to blow out the candles just yet. There is very little in the film that sells Rain as a plausible leading man. While he does show brief flashes of charisma, the lack of a proper script really exposes the limitations of his range as an actor. This is probably why the film relies so heavily on the excessive death sequences. Sure the opening scene was fun to watch but after awhile you realize that there are only so many decapitations a person can sit through before it gets stale.

As mindless entertainment Ninja Assassin is passable at best. Yet it lacks an engaging story, like the ones in the Immortal Iron Fist comics, to keep you interested after the twentieth limb goes flying across the screen. Anyways, the ball is now in your court Marvel. You can make an Iron Fist movie and rake in a Blade-style haul. Or you can sit by and watch lesser works like Ninja Assassin steal the comic-style martial arts market.

Your pal,
CS